New Year's Eve in Grand Bend

We drove to Lake Huron and stood on the
ice. There was sand mixed with the ice.
A woman said to her daughter, Skate
out further I dont want you skating on
the sand. We played darts at Finnegans,
in Grand Bend. We'd asked people, what's
to do in Grand Bend at New Years. But
they were all heading to Sarnia and
London. You had to play darts with a drink
in hand, house rule. If you ask someone
how old they are, that's flirting. If
you tug on a man's coat lapels, that's
also a good sign. But midnight was spent
on the ice with an Ipod and shooters
and very small champagne glasses.
We walked further out towards the
rim of water. We followed a string of
shadow made by the flagpole and the
porchlight. Until our lead man, a man
wearing Italian shoes and no socks,
broke through rotten ice. He fell two
feet, jammed in the ice up to his thighs.
He looked at his waist and then pulled
himself out and turned around, drink in
hand. We all turned back to the
cottage. We followed him. It was a bit
like a christening, a welcoming into the
world of the new year.